KFKH

Wow! Thank you for the specifics. Right now the two companies that have given me quotes are referrals from friends. My apples-to-apples dilemma is that we cannot determine on our own how to best invest our money here. For example, one company quoted a heater size of 112,000 BTU and the other quoted a 5.0 ton heat pump. Are these the same thing? One quoted an automatic aquaswitch at $2,600 and the other at $1,400. Just wish there was someone who could say, "To do this pool right, you need XXXX and it is going to cost you $$$$." And, then we could go to the pool companies and say tell us what it would cost to fill this order exactly as specified. This is a big investment and we want to be smart, not cheap. I'm babbling.....thank you for your help. It is greatly appreciated. I've made note of your suggestions.

We are in Tequesta, the last to be visited by Wilma in Palm Beach County. Thanks so much for your info. It is really helpful. We are going with a slightly larger rectangular pool, but same as you 3-5 ft., nothing fancy--but "nothing fancy" is surprisingly pricey. Good luck with your project and I hope it isn't delayed too long.

So, it sounds like you contracted with a company.....did you negotiate the original bid? We are also in Florida and are certain Wilma will impact our plans. Oh well, things could be a lot worse, right? Thanks! Karen

Thanks, Christopher. It would definitely help if we shaped the quote rather than having the pool builders disclose the information their way. I'm going to follow your excellent suggestion and ask them to reformat their quote so we can compare apples to apples. Thanks! Karen

My husband and I are getting three bids for an inground pool. While we have never had a pool installed, we assume the price has some degree of negotiability, but how much? We want to be fair, but also don't want to be stupid. We are concerned that what we are looking at on paper now (we already have two bids), may grow beyond our expectations as the project unfolds due to options we haven't even considered yet (upgrades to pool lighting, finishing, for example.) We want a cushion in our financial commitment to account for this. Also, it is difficult to compare the two bids because costs on one bid seem to be "included" or standard on the other bid. We could really use some advice on this initial, slightly overwhelming, aspect of the process. Thanks! Karen